How long most couples date for, before they tie the knot.

There’s a sweet spot, isn’t there? With how long to date someone before getting engaged.

Saying ‘yes’ too soon leads to raised eyebrows and probing questions. ‘You’re rushing into things,’ friends might say. They worry you’re still in the honeymoon phase. That the foundation of your relationship isn’t yet strong enough to withstand such a fierce commitment.

Then there’s the opposite. When you’ve been dating for a long-time, a decade maybe, and the questions are even more persistent: When will you get engaged? Do you want to get married? Why hasn’t there been a proposal? What’s holding you back?

Of course, all of the questions and expectations and judgments and more questions don’t need to impact your relationship at all.

It’s your life. Your business. Bugger the rest.

But it does beg the question; what is the average length of time couples are together before tying the knot?

According to a 4,000-person survey from the wedding planning app Bridebook in the UK, the average bride and groom are together for 4.9 years before getting married.

Broken down, that’s:

17 months dating before moving in together
22 months of living together before getting engaged
20 months of engagement before marriage

The numbers make sense because, in Australia, the median age for marriage is increasing.

Vogue has named the wedding trends that are over for 2017. Post continues below.

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the average age for men getting married in 2015 was 31.8 years, compared to 31.5 in 2013 and 2014. For women, the average age to get married was 29.8 in 2015, an increase of 0.2 years since the year before.

It really doesn't matter, what the 'average' is or what the expectations of others might suggest...

But at least knowing the numbers might make answering all those questions a little easier. Short of that, just tell 'em to mind their own business, you do you.